so once upon a time in walked this really pretty, skinny, cool, musician girl named sara.

she needed her mop cut so she came to the salon i used to work at (before the sunchild.)

i knew i liked her instantly which doesn't happen often. she didn't talk much about her music...still doesnt to this day...so whatever i wanted to know i had to ask...anyway out of the haircut we became fast friends, we both like to talk about shocking subjects and we like to see people squirm. oh heavens, maybe we will tell you about number 4 one day. not now. oh and we have the same birthday! she was the first person i met who shared that with me:) we even had a 70's birthday party one year at the roller rink. see she's super fun!

i ramble...sorry.

about a month ago i called sara and asked her if we could do an interview for the blog, it just so happened she needed a haircut so she drove her bike over to the salon, drank some mimosas and we began to do the interview on the floor. i made her put on her album and every person that walked into the room i would say "you like this? this is her singing!"

i'm not just saying she is rad bc shes my friend. i'm saying shes rad bc she has got a wicked voice and can write some amazing songs! she even wrote me and my husbands first dance song at our wedding...and sang the jamocha song (song for jacob)i shared with y'all in feb.

my cousin even thinks she is kick ass which tells you she really is legit, bc he doesn't think many people are awesome..they are in a band together as well but I'll talk about that another time...this is all about

SARA VAN BUSKIRK

yay the album is done, complete, finished! woo-hoo!!!!

Brandi (me): You are at a fancy dinner with a bunch of important people and you have to use the restroom all of a sudden. When you get there and do your business you look over and there is no more toilet paper. What would you use to wipe your booty?

sara: I would use my underwear, put them in a plastic bag, throw them out the window...then fetch 'em later. No, scratch that, I would probably use my underwear and throw them away. What kind of first question is this? Ha!

me: How do you market yourself?
sara: Poorly. Mass text messages to friends, facebook event invites, reverb nation, myspace. One time I printed posters and flyers and actually took them to the venue...that was a big deal for me.

me: Who are your musical influences?

sara: Bob Dylan, Nico, Emmylou Harris, Neko Case, Ryan Adams, Feist (what a talented lady!), Woody Guthrie, Lightnin' Hopkins, Lady Ga-I mean. That's all for now.

me: What about non musical influences?
sara: Life, other people's lives, my animals, my family, my friends, making my house a home, working in my garden.

me: what was your first musical experience performing?
sara: Well, I grew up playing in the church from ages 8-19. My first Houston "gig" was at Deans Credit Clothing downtown in July of 2005 for this singer/songwriter in the round show. I was really nervous. I was really new looking. But I had a great time and met a lot of new people that helped encourage me to continue. That's what I love about Houston, artists support each other.

me: Why do you want to record or sell your music?
sara: All I ever wanted was to get these songs recorded. I didn't plan for anything else, but once it was down, I started writing again. I think I already have half my next record written. The selling part is not that important to me - although necessary to keep going. I love it that people listen. I love it that I hear this record blasting from my neighbor's cars as they come home. It's a collective effort between friends that I am so proud of.

me: Where do you do most of your writing?
sara: On the floor, like how you are sitting right now. In a composition notebook.

me: (hunched over, crossed legs, elbows on floor)...cool.

me: Pencil or pen?
sara: Fine point Sharpie pen.

me: Who is your audience?

sara: I would say 18-60 year old wino's or hipsters, white bread, taco garcia's...lets just say all kinds of people. I love them all. When I play a full house it's like playing for all your friends because the crowd could never be more accepting. It's like a house party.

me: Describe yourself in 1 word.

sara: Interested (in everything), hands on.

me: Thats three words.

sara: I know.

me: Ok what about your music? one word.

sara: I feel narcissistic.

me: I know. And again three words.

sara: No! I'm saying I would feel narcissistic if I had to describe the music in one word and that word was like, "better" or "glorious" or something. So I guess my one word would be "honest"? cause it is.

me: Name an artist you can't stand.
sara: No comment.

me: Would you ever get blonde extensions, fake boobs, and sing pop music for a record deal?
sara: No! I don't want a record deal.

me: What did you grow up listening to?
sara: Sixpence None the Richer...Leigh Nash was my vocal training. I still have every one of their albums.

me: What are the venues one would see you play at?
sara: Avant Garden, Walters, and The Corkscrew until it recently closed. I've played Rudyards & Deans & Notsuoh & Continental Club & Mucky Duck. That's all I can think of right now. I try to stick with the non-fussy places. I prefer down home & I prefer not charging cover. If you've come to see me play, I don't want you to have to give me money, you can if you want, but I don't want it being a requirement.

me: Miley or Taylor?
sara: Uhhhhhhhhhh hahahahahahahahaha aren't they the same?
me: omg.

me: Whats the first song you remember hearing?
sara: My mama singing to me. She would sing old hymns or traditionals and I had to hear them until I fell asleep.

me: Have you ever had your heart broken?
sara: Of course. I wouldn't be an artist if that didn't happen regularly. Wait. I would be a human if that didn't happen.

me: What are the majority of your songs about?
sara: Life lessons. General, little bits of wisdom, funny or sad, not trying to be profound, simplistic.

me: What are your favorite tracks on the album?
sara: The acoustic tracks we recorded at Taylors house.

I wrote The Place Where You Are I was 16 yrs old, it pretty much summed up my life at that point. It's very spiritual, like not being able to find God.

Daughter of Your Bones is also very personal. It's about my family.

The Duel is the newest song on the record and I am thrilled with how that one turned out.

me: Where can we get your new album?
sara: iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby and the like soon. I will be updating everyone on the email list and/or myspace when it goes digital. Hopefully they will soon be at Cactus Records when I get the time to run them by there. Or you could come to the CD Release party on the 14th of May at Avant Garden! 411 Westheimer. Free entry, $10 cd's & hopefully some extras. Acoustic performances from Brandon Elam of The Literary Greats & Gretchen Schmaltz & hopefully Sergio Trevinio of Buxton.

me: Random question. If you could only choose 1 thing to wear on your face (make up) what would you choose?
sara: Eye Shadow/Eye Liner

the end

me and sara goofing off in the studio. i bet you wanna know what we were recording huh? hahaha

see you at the release houston!
listen to one of her songs here.